Capture the Moment

Thousands of people with their cameras hoping to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II during the Trooping the Colour in 2019.

Trudy and I celebrated 25 years of marriage in 2019 with a trip to England. We booked our tickets to arrive in early June, spend 5 days in London and then 5 days on the southern coast of England. Only after booking our trip did we realize that we would be in London on the day of Trooping the Colour.

Trooping the Colour is an annual celebration of the reigning monarch’s birthday where the various military divisions parade before the monarch while thousands of people line the streets to witness the spectacle. Saturday morning, June 8th, 2019, Trudy and I woke up early, hurriedly ate some breakfast and made our way down to Buckingham Palace. When we arrived there were already a lot of people there. Listening to voices around us it was evident by the accents and languages that many of the people who were present were did not call England their home.

Trudy and I found a place right close to the “Canada Gate” where we were about 6 or 7 people back from front but we were next to a curb where we could stand to get a slightly more elevated view of the palace and the roadway in front of it.

While we were waiting I caught a glimpse of people looking out of a window up in the palace and with the use of my long lens I was able to snap a photo of Prince William and Catherine with their children looking down the mall. After what seemed like hours, the military bands, and regiments began to begin their parading past us and then down to the horse guards parade grounds.

Then the carriages carrying members of the royal family exited out of the palace and made their way to the parade grounds as well. Finally the gold gilded landau carrying Queen Elizabeth could be seen coming toward us. In that instant all the phones and cameras were raised in order just to catch a glimpse of the monarch. I couldn’t help capturing the throng of people striving to get a photo, despite being in the same place as them.

So many cameras, some taking video, some live streaming the event via social media to their friends back home, and others snapping a photo to mark this moment.

Photos have a way of recalling those moments in life that we cherish. Reminders of rites of passage fill albums in closets around the world. Connected to those photos are the stories that they tell.

So why all the cameras? Because ultimately the way in which the world finds meaning is in the stories that we share with each other. And the photos remind us of the stories. Our problem is that stories take longer to digest than other forms of communication. They carry nuance and meaning that otherwise gets lost when we make statements and declarations. Our problem in common North American/European culture is that we have gotten out of practice of making meaning from the stories.

So take out your camera (likely the one on your phone) and capture the moment. Then tell the stories that come from the image that you capture.